After all the voting machines in the race for the 35th Senate District were re-checked Wednesday, Democratic challenger Andrea Stewart-Cousins maintains a commanding lead over Senator Nick Spano (R-Yonkers).

The re-canvassing of the final 45 machines in Mount Pleasant wrapped up Wednesday. Though the counts differ by two votes, the unofficial machine total puts Stewart-Cousins ahead by just under 1,800 votes. Spano's spokesman says despite promises to reassess things after the machine votes were finished, the senator?s team will wait to see what happens on paper. Spano is looking to recover lost ground with some 4,000 votes on paper yet to counted.

Lawyers for the two will go before a judge Thursday in Westchester County Court. The judge is expected to decide how to go about counting 2,670 absentee ballots, more than 1,500 affidavits from voters whose names weren't found on the books and 174 emergency ballots. That totals about 4,365 votes on paper, some of which will likely be tossed out. A lawyer for Stewart-Cousins says in order for the 10-term incumbent to win the race, Spano would have to win on the paper ballots more than 3-1 in a district that split 53-48 against him on the machines. He adds the paper ballots usually do not vary from the machines that much.

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